Come With Me!
by Prince-in-Disguise
Summary: What if Meer went with Athrun as he fled from ZAFT, instead of staying behind? A little 'what if' adventure exploring the real Meer and her insecurities, as well as Athrun's kind and caring nature. Spoilers from episode 36 of Destiny .
1. Chapter 1: On the Run

**Author's Note:** What if Meer went with Athrun instead of staying behind? An attempt at exploring Meer's insecurities and Athrun's sweet, understanding nature. Just something I wanted to try because I thought it might be interesting and needed to get my spark back somehow! This story starts out in the middle of episode 36 of Destiny.

**Disclaimer: Gundam Seed and all its characters belong to their respective owners. **

* * *

** Come With Me!**

**Chapter 01: On the Run**

She was just walking down the hall, minding her own business.

She really hadn't been snooping around. In fact, she usually took great care not to appear like she was interested in anything around her, because, in truth, being surrounded by all these soldiers made her uneasy. Back on PLANT, her new career as Lacus Clyne's stand-in representative had left her breathless with anticipation. She couldn't wait to get up in the morning so she could start her day! She had sorted through a wide variety of emotions during her whirlwind adventure of stepping into the shoes… scratch that: the graceful high heels of Lady Lacus, but she had never been uneasy. Now that she was on Earth, in the heart of an important military base, Meer found herself, disappointingly, feeling less like a pop star and more and more like some kind of trophy. Any chance to perform boosted her spirits considerably, but as soon as the flashing lights and upbeat music died down and her time to shine was over, the intimidating atmosphere of the ZAFT military headquarters started eating at her again. She was actually on her way to see the chairman, hoping to find out if they would be leaving for space again soon.

So, she _had_ been minding her own business when, suddenly, she heard voices. One was the chairman – she would recognize his distinct tone anywhere. The other was a low, droning voice, practically emotionless. She knew she shouldn't have peeked around the corner to see who it was, but her curiosity got the better of her.

"Would you care for something to drink?" the chairman was asking the young man sitting in the chair opposite of him. A man with golden hair and cool, blue eyes.

Meer darted back behind the cover of the wall, holding her breath and hoping they had not noticed the flash of candy pink hair caused by her quick movement. She knew that guy's face. The chairman favoured him for some reason. She had seen the two with their heads together on more than one occasion. Rey za Burrel. Any other girl would probably have found his handsome features attractive, but not Meer. She did not think he was bad looking, exactly… It was just that she only had room for one boy in her heart, and his name was Athrun Zala. It was quite fitting, really, since he was the Lady Lacus's fiancée. _Her_ fiancée, she reminded herself giddily. Because _she_ was Lacus now. She was about to drift off on a happy imagination bubble in which she would feed Athrun strawberries and ice cream, when something on the floor caught her eye.

She bent to pick it up and frowned. It was a photograph. Of Athrun.

"So Athrun won't do after all…"

Hearing those nasty words come from the chairman's mouth froze her heart. Her breathing teetered on the edge of a gasp. She held it. Held it and listened.

"As we suspected," Rey continued in that emotionless drone, "his loyalties towards the Archangel and Freedom were strong. Very strong."

"There's no other use for him…" the chairman sighed. "He's incredibly strong, but he thinks too much. What a waste…"

There was a slight pause as the two men considered the possibilities in silence.

_What are they saying?_ she thought frantically. Was Athrun not good enough for ZAFT anymore?

"Could it be… that this 'Kira Yamato' is to blame…? His friendship with Athrun is a hindrance," the chairman reasoned. "I suppose you could say that their paths having crossed is… unfortunate." Another pause. Things certainly did not sound good for Athrun. She had no idea who this 'Kira Yamato' character was or what kind of influence he had over Athrun, but she knew that this conversation was a dangerous one. "However, Kira is dead. Perhaps now—"

"Wrong. He is alive," Rey interjected quietly, an ominous undertone in his voice. She could hear the chairman's surprised grunt. "Kira Yamato lives on… Inside Athrun's heart, that is."

"Oh, yes…" the chairman chuckled softly, a bitter, mocking sound. "Now that is bothersome…" Meer could almost hear the older man's sardonic smile creep into his voice. "Well, the charges won't be a problem. Can I count on you to do the rest?"

She did not wait for the chairman's confidant to answer. She slipped out the door silently, clutching the photograph to her chest. This was serious. Way too serious. Athrun was in trouble! She rushed blindly in the direction of his room. She had to at least warn him!

He had been acting rather strangely earlier that day, she recalled. Something had changed in his eyes. He no longer regarded the chairman with solemn respect. That afternoon, he had questioned the older man, even came close to defying him. And the look Athrun had given _her_… She shuddered. He had not meant to aim his frustration at her, had he? No, she was sure that could not have been the case. Either way, when they were shown their brand new units, that kid, Shinn, was all over his like a child getting a new toy. Athrun had not even said thank you. Was that why the chairman was not satisfied with Athrun anymore? Maybe if Athrun acted more interested… Her thoughts came to a standstill.

She stood in front of his room.

Taking a deep breath, she quickly straightened her hair and smoothed her skirt before proceeding to knock urgently on the door.

"Athrun," she called. "Athrun!" He was not answering…_Oh, forget it!_ she thought, pushing the door open. This was no time to be polite.

She nearly stumbled when she discovered that the room was shrouded in darkness. It seemed to suit the mood of the lone Coordinator standing at the window. He had been staring at the rain, brooding. She promptly switched on the lights. Athrun cringed at the sudden brightness of the room. His emerald eyes pulled into two slits of bright colour, set in a pleasantly pale face framed with luscious, dark locks. He was so perfect. Sometimes she still couldn't believe that he was real! Whenever she was near him, she feared that she might wake up from this sweet dream at any moment and never see him again. She shook her head. What was she thinking…! This was definitely no time to be goggling!

"I thought you'd be here!" she scolded in her best Lacus voice. She drew confidence from her appearance as she strode towards him, making herself as tall as she could. Surely Athrun would listen to his fiancée. "You shouldn't be standing around here looking depressed!"

He looked indignant at her for just barging in, but made no move to stop her.

"I think the way you acted in the hangar earlier has displeased the chairman! You should show more gratitude or you'll be in trouble! Well, what have you got to say for yourself?" she demanded. But instead of answering, his expression darkened. In his eyes, she saw an unfathomable sadness.

"Are you happy now?" he asked, a bitter smile forming on his lips. A smile that did not touch his eyes. His sad eyes remained narrowed, as if he was bearing immeasurable pain. "You love being Lacus, right? The real one is gone now… You can be Lacus to your heart's content… Are you satisfied?

The accusation stung as surely as if he had struck her. Why would he say such things to her?

"It's not like that!" she defended. Why would he accuse her of— _Of course…_ He had been under the impression that the Lady Lacus had been aboard the Archangel, and had assumed that she had gone down with it… "Besides! Lady Lacus is still alive!"

His expression of utter despair faltered, then changed gradually as shock and realization set in. He grasped her by the shoulders firmly. She gasped. Her heart was beating a drum roll. She had never been this close to Athrun before. Not with him initiating the contact.

"H-How do you know!? Is she all right!? You have to tell me!" he cried, his eyes alight with pain, the pain of new-found hope he was yet too afraid to embrace.

For all the maturity of Athrun's handsome features, his eyes were those of a lost child. He seemed so vulnerable. She longed to touch her hand to his cheek, longed for him to accept her touch and draw comfort from it. But it was Lacus he cared for. Not Meer. Subdued, Meer told him the story of how her shuttle had been hijacked.

"So she's in space…" he breathed finally.

New worry lines began creasing his forehead. Instead of being relieved, he looked even more upset. And spooked. She could sense it as his whole being seemed to tense once more. What was going through his mind right now? For a moment, all she could do was stare at him, captivated by the morbid splendour of his eyes, glittering with pain and confusion. She strengthened her resolve to make him feel better.

"That's good news, right?" she probed, gingerly touching his arm.

"But if the chairman knew about this, why didn't he tell me?" he muttered, seemingly oblivious to both her words and her touch.

_Speaking of the chairman…_ Athrun was in danger! They did not have time for this! She pulled lightly at his arm, but he did not react.

"Come on, Athrun…!" she urged. "Lady Lacus is all right, so you don't have to worry about her, okay? Just worry about yourself now! That Shinn kid is spending all his time down at the hangar fawning over his new unit! You have to go too! Otherwise the chairman will…"

She let her sentence trail away. Trapped in his own thoughts, he still did not heed her. Impatiently, she began tugging at his arm, hard this time, but he refused to budge. How could he not notice that she was pulling at his arm? It was almost as if he had turned to stone! She was so flustered at his lack of response that she almost dropped the piece of paper she clutched in her free hand…

Of course! The photograph!

"Here, look at this!" she declared, shoving the photo in front of his face. She fought a smirk of satisfaction as his eyes went wide – any kind of reaction was better than standing around here getting caught! "I found it in the chairman's room! I overheard him talking to that Rey guy."

Perplexed, Athrun reached his hand out to grasp the picture numbly. The moment his fingers touched it, it was as if he had been mesmerized. He stared and stared at the image of him and three other people as if he could not – or did not want to – believe his eyes. She told him what she had heard them say, word for word as she recalled it. She was not sure if he was listening, but she hoped that the perilous implications would soon sink in and jolt him into action.

"See? You're in danger!" she cried for emphasis.

Slowly, painfully, he squeezed his eyes shut and crumpled the photograph in his fist. His shoulders began to tremble slightly. His features were warring between an expression of anger and pain. Meer's heart went out to him. He had done nothing wrong, really. Why had the chairman been spying on him? And what were they planning on doing to him? She placed her hands over his and gave a gentle squeeze, hoping to soothe him somehow. It did not seem to be helping.

"Quick! You have to assure the chairman of your loyalty, or else they'll—"

She bit off the rest of her sentence when there was a stomach-twisting rap at the door. She swung her head in the direction of the sound. It was too late. They were here to arrest him! Her heart pounded frantically as she heard the official outside the door request to 'have a word' with Athrun Zala. An icy feeling gripped her stomach as she fervently hoped she had remembered to lock the door.

"I should have known…" she heard Athrun rasp resentfully. "The chairman is a clever man. He knew about me all along. He knew exactly how I felt… What I needed to hear…" Meer blinked at him. She wished she understood better what was happening. Maybe then she could have comforted him somehow. Athrun looked up, anger putting a dangerous glint in his eyes. "He's right, though. What he wants is a fighting machine, an unquestioning puppet murdering at the pull of a string… I can never be like that. No matter how righteous his words may sound!"

The words struck her like a brick between the eyes. Suddenly Athrun made the chairman sounded like a cold-blooded puppet master! But the chairman did good deeds, helped those in need! He protected PLANT and he had allowed her to become Lady Lacus so she could help stop the war… She could not make herself believe it. This had to be some sort of misunderstanding!

_But,_ a nagging little thought came from the back of her mind, _if the chairman is right, does that mean that Athrun is the one at fault?_ She could not make herself believe _that_ either. Meer felt torn. On the one hand was Chairman Gilbert Dullindal, the man who had made her dream come true. On the other hand, the war hero, Athrun Zala, who had supported her idol, the Lady Lacus, in stopping the first war.

How could _either_ be wrong? It _had_ to be a misunderstanding!

What happened next was all too fast for Meer to take in. Athrun smashed the window. There was shouting. The guards kicked the door down and stampeded into the room with their guns raised, only to find Athrun gone. They spared her not a glance, but she was still paralyzed with fear.

"Find him!" one of them yelled as they jumped out the window after him.

To hunt him.

At the orders of the chairman himself.

_Why? Why is this happening!?_ she thought, quivering. If she had not heard it with her own ears, she did not think she would have believed that the chairman could do such a thing. _Oh, please, don't kill Athrun!_

She heard sounds of fighting just outside the window. Was he all right? She heard dull thumps and low grunts, but no gunshots. For a heartbeat, all was quiet. The only sounds audible were that of the rain pelting down from the heavens, and her shallow breathing.

And then he materialized on the window sill. Like an angel framed by a divine halo of cascading rainwater. An angel clutching a rifle in his one hand, but angelic, nonetheless. Spellbound, she took his hand as he beckoned for her.

The spell was broken, however, by the pouring rain drenching her body the instant she stepped out onto the fire-escape. He led her further and further down the slippery stairs. She had trouble keeping up with him in her high heels. All the while, her thoughts spun in circles. Maybe she could convince the chairman to give Athrun another chance. Maybe the chairman could reason with Athrun. If only they could all come to some sort of agreement. Then no one would have to get hurt.

"A-Athrun!" she stammered. Ignoring the bucketsful of water soaking him to the skin, he stopped to cock his head at her and listen. For a moment she was tongue-tied. "Athrun… why?"

"The chairman only has a use for those who comply with the roles he gives them to play," he explained. "To him, you're nothing more than a convenient Lacus pawn. And I nothing more than a mobile suit pilot. You can't possibly keep on doing this forever, Meer! As soon as your usefulness runs out, he'll kill you too!" His eyes took on an intensity she had never seen before. "Come with me!"

Time stopped.

At any other time, she would have been thrilled to hear him say those last three words. At any other time, she would have followed him to the ends of the earth and beyond. But not like this… Going with him now meant abandoning her role as Lacus. She just couldn't do that…!

He started pulling her along after him. Distraught, she snatched back her hand. He stopped and stared at her uncertainly, blinking rainwater from his eyes.

"I-I… I'm Lacus!" she spluttered.

"Meer!" he gasped.

"No!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. Not Meer! "I'm Lacus! I – am – Lacus!" She could never go back to being just Meer again. Plain, boring Meer with her mousey hair, round face and freckles. She would much rather be Lacus. "I _want_ to be Lacus!!!"

"Meer…" he said, more gently this time.

His eyes were intent on her, and so beautiful.

_What would Athrun see in the old Meer?_ The question slipped past her defences before she could quash it.

What were the odds of an unattractive girl, an absolute nobody, meeting someone like Athrun Zala face to face and having him stare at her so intensely? Next to zero? No, _precisely_ zero. She knew it for the truth, and it hurt. It hurt more than she ever thought it could. She felt an involuntary sob tear from her throat. He would never even have noticed her…!

_No!_ her mind screamed. She shook her head as she continued to weep, tears mixing with the incessant downpour. That was in the_past_! She was not a nobody! She was Lacus now!

"Who cares if I'm just playing her role!?" she yelled hysterically. "I'll do it right! I won't make any mistakes!" She didn't care if she sounded incoherent and childish. She had to be Lacus! The old her was boring, unattractive and of no use to anyone. Lacus had millions of people who adored her, including Athrun Zala himself. Meer had nobody. "So what if I keep on living like this!?"

Athrun's eyes widened. He stared at her as if suddenly seeing a different person.

---

Athrun was stunned as he saw the image of the cheerful, energetic girl he knew as Meer crumble before him. She was in agony. Her face and eyes were flooded in tears. She wanted to keep on pretending to be something she was not – and desperately so – even if it meant living each day of her life in a lie. What had she been like before they had moulded her into Lacus's image? Who had she been? What kind of things had she liked? What kind of friends had she had? What kind of life had she led?

"Who cares if I'm just playing her role!?" she yelled hysterically. "I'll do it right! I won't make any mistakes!" Her whole body quaked as she frantically choked out the words. "So what if I keep on living like this!?"

Athrun's eyes widened. He stared at her, suddenly seeing a different person – himself.

He thought of his lifestyle back in Orb, of the life of Alex Dino. Was she clinging to something that was not real just so she could be accepted, as he had pretended? Had she, too, felt that she would never fit in as her true self? Was Meer hiding her pain behind the pretty face of Lacus Clyne, as he had concealed his behind a pair of dark sunglasses?

He could not just leave her here. She would eventually be killed when the chairman decided that he no longer needed a fake Lacus – to cover up his scheme, if nothing else. She already knew too much for her own safety. Quite possibly, Athrun owed her his life. If the chairman ever found out that she had warned him about this… There was no time to try and convince her. She was beyond reasoning. He could already hear the bustle of footsteps descending the stairs somewhere above them.

And then he did something he knew he would surely regret later – he lifted her bodily over his shoulder and hauled her down the stairwell.

"A-Athrun!" she yelped in surprise. "What are you—!?"

"You love being Lacus, right?" he hissed into her ear urgently. "Then you'll have no qualms about being abducted as her?"

It was not his intention to indulge her in her fantasy, but he did not think he would be able to outrun his pursuers if she delayed him any longer. She was an awkward bundle to carry. Her bulky skirt, heavy with rainwater, made things no easier for him. It was still a long way down, and the stairs were slippery in this weather. If she decided to struggle…

"Athrun!" she whispered, but, thankfully, did not try to resist. "Athrun… why?"

Athrun bit back a curse as he nearly slipped on a particularly smooth step. He could not explain it to her. Not now. He did not want her misunderstanding him – his heart belonged to another. But if they ever got out of this alive, he would allow her to see it… He swore that, if they made it, he would share with her the side of Athrun Zala that only a handful of people knew…

Thinking about the precious few friends he had in the world brought on a wave of loss and sadness, but, he realized anew, he had unconsciously refused to accept it. Refused to accept the fact that they were dead. If Lacus had survived, why not the people on the Archangel? Why not Cagalli? Even Kira…

The light of hope was feeble in the darkness of a reality he had witnessed with his own eyes, but as long as it was there, he could keep going. His heart racing, he made it to the bottom of the stairs. He ducked into an alleyway just as several armed soldiers descending the stairwell rushed past. Setting Meer down, he allowed himself a small sigh of relief.

"Athrun… where…?" she asked, her voice wavering. "Where are we going…?"

"To find the Archangel," he replied simply.

Reports after its termination stated that no proof of its wreckage had actually been found. There was still a chance. Her eyes widened, but before she could argue, he took her by the hand led her around a corner. They had to find a way out of the military institution, and even then, he doubted it would be safe to stay in one place for long.

Just as they rounded the next corner, lightning illuminated a stone-faced figure barring their way.

Rey za Burrel.

**To be continued...**


	2. Chapter 2: Regrets

**Author's Note:** Thank you so much, everyone who read and reviewed the first chapter! And a special thanks to everyone who encouraged me to keep chasing after my inspiration!

**Disclaimer: Gundam Seed and all its characters belong to their respective owners.**

* * *

**Come With Me!**

**Chapter 02: Regrets**

Meer's heart beat in her throat. Before them stood the chairman's bloodhound – the person assigned to lead the pack that was hunting Athrun.

So youre running away once more, the man said matter-of-factly. Once a traitor, always a traitor.

"Rey...!" Athrun exclaimed, the rifle ready in his hands.

The yellow-haired man had a deadly grace about him as he stepped out of the shadows between the two buildings, effectively blocking their path. This lone wolf seemed to prefer hunting apart from the rest of the pack. Athrun did not move, but kept his rifle trained on the soldier in front of him. He tensed as the enemy hefted his own rifle.

"Anyone who dares to betray Gil deserves death," Rey declared frostily.

Meer thought she could hear emotion in the stone-eyed mans voice. His face still displayed his usual mask of indifference, despite a slight furrowing of his brows, but for the first time there was a hint of feeling in the normally stoic voice. Cold, hard anger. There was no passion in it, no heat, but that made the emotion seem that much more chilling.

"Don't come any closer," Athrun threatened. His hand clamped around Meer's arm. He poked the rifle at her. His touch was not gentle, but somehow it felt reassuring. She looked up at him. _Don't be afraid,_ his eyes seemed to say. _Play along, I will protect you._

A ghost of a smile played on Reys lips.

"How unsightly, Athrun," he sneered, shifting the weapon in his hands as if to draw their attention to it. "You've never been the type to take a girl hostage. And you're not a very convincing actor, either."

Involuntarily, Athrun's fingers clenched tighter on her arm, leaving imprints on her skin. Meer only had time to gasp before the shot rang. He pushed her. She fell. She rolled. The wet pavement bruised her as she skidded across its rough, grainy surface. Another shot sounded. Rain and tears blurred her vision as she tried to get up. She could not move. Her legs were numb with fear. She could hear the sounds of a struggle.

_Athrun is fighting!_

Somehow, that thought gave her a little courage. She pushed herself up on her elbows and had to blink in order to make out the two red-uniformed bodies locked in a desperate brawl on the wet gravel. One of them had a knife drawn. She had trouble telling them apart as they thrashed about violently. Darting left and right, Meer's sky blue eyes searched rapidly for a way to stop Rey from hurting Athrun. Until her gaze finally settled on the guns. One rifle lay far off to the side, as if it had been thrown down or, most likely, shot out of its owners grasp.

The other lay right in front of her.

Without thinking, she picked it up. Her hands were shaking so badly, she feared that her unstable fingers might set the gun off by mistake. Her heart thundered against her ribcage. She could not use the weapon to help Athrun, not the way he and the other soldier were wrestling for possession of the knife.

_Oh, Athrun, what should I do!?_ she thought at him hysterically.

She had never in her life held a weapon before. She hardly knew where to put her hands in order to find the trigger. How had her perfect little world come to this? An hour gone, she had been living a dream made reality. She had been living the life of her ultimate idol, had gotten to know her dream guy and she had been able to do something for the world! Why was Athrun being hunted like a rabid dog that needed to be put down? And was she really going to be next? She did not want to die! She did not want Athrun to die!

She heard someone cry out in pain. The yellow-haired figure was towering over Athrun now, leering at him triumphantly as he raised the knife in his right hand.

_No, please, don't kill Athrun!_

Panic seized her. She squeezed her eyes shut and ruthlessly pulled the trigger.

--

He breathed heavily. Rainwater stung the fresh wound in his shoulder. Rey had him pinned on the ground and the knife mere inches from his face. His injury throbbed with the strain of keeping the other man at bay. Rey shifted, managed to free his left hand and dug his fingers into Athrun's wounded shoulder. Athrun gritted his teeth, but could not keep a cry from escaping his lips. The aggravated injury was pulsating wildly with every beat of his heart. In one last attempt, Athrun pulled up his legs and aimed to knee his opponent in the stomach while he was off-balance. But Rey was too quick. He leaped back, avoiding Athrun's efforts easily. He raised the knife in his right hand. A cold, victorious smile brushed his lips, but the emotion never reached his eyes. Those eyes were devoid of heat, devoid of anger, devoid of feeling. Empty.

Athrun knew, with a certainty that scared him, that Rey's next attack would plant the blade in his heart. He would spend his last moments on this earth feeling nothing but pain and regret.

Regret for getting Meer involved in this foolish attempt at escaping. Regret that, now that Athrun had finally uncovered the chairman's subtle brainwashing, he was unable to do anything about it. Regret that Shinn would slowly suffocate his high ideals, ultimately becoming the chairman's faithful killing machine. Regret for the friends he had been unable to protect. Regret at not being able to explain to them what he was doing here in the first place.

_In the end, what have I accomplished by coming here...?_ he wondered bitterly. _I'm sorry, Cagalli..._

He wanted to squeeze his eyes shut, but the blade hovering over his heart held him hypnotized, the way a mouse was trapped by the stare of a snake.

Rey's eyes went wide in shock as a loud noise tore through the silence. It took a moment for Athrun's brain to register the sound of a gunshot. In slow-motion, he watched Rey slump to the ground, blood spurting vigorously from the fallen soldier's left thigh. Athrun turned his head and stared in disbelief at the shaking pink-haired girl gripping the rifle in trembling hands. She was crying openly by now, like a child. The terror of being thrust into a situation of 'kill or be killed' had become too much for her. Athrun felt a wave of sympathy towards her – sympathy crowned with the bitterness of guilt. It had been a mistake to bring her along. It was his fault for dragging her into this. Ignoring the inferno in his shoulder, he stood.

For a long moment, all he could hear was Meer's desperate sobs against the sound of the rain. He knelt beside her and placed his hand gently on her shoulder. At his touch, she stopped crying almost instantly.

"You saved my life," he said softly. "Thank you, I..." He opened his mouth to say more, then closed it again.

At his words, Meer's eyes shot open and new life sparked in her large, water blue pupils.

He wanted to tell her to run, to escape this nightmare he was pulling her into. Anyone who became involved with him eventually got hurt. He wished he could send her back to her comfortable little bubble where she could play Lacus for as long as she so desired. But his logical side sneered at this emotional reasoning. Sending her back now would surely lead to her death. She was already involved – she had tipped him off about the arrest and she had shot a soldier to protect him.

--

_I shot someone! I shot someone! I shot someone!_ her mind reeled. Her body shuddered uncontrollably. Her mind was blank, refusing to let her think about the implications of firing a rifle at a person. She felt ill after squashing a particularly vicious-looking spider with a shoe, even though she was deathly afraid of it. What she felt now was the same, only amplified tenfold, no, a thousand fold! Her hands would not stop shaking.

"You saved my life," Athrun said softly, placing a tender hand on her shoulder. "Thank you, I..."

Her heart swelled at the sound of Athrun's honeycomb voice. _He's alive!_ She opened her eyes and stared. His wet hair clung to his forehead and his lips were slightly parted. His endlessly green eyes seemed only slightly strained as they studied her. He was so close to her, their noses almost touched. Despite their situation, she felt a thrill at seeing him so concerned about her. Her heart ached, though, at noticing a dark patch staining the material of his uniform on the right shoulder. He had been hurt. Suddenly, her eyes caught a yellow-and-red blur behind Athrun.

"Athrun, look out!" she screamed.

His eyes widening in alarm, Athrun spun to face a snarling Rey, who was lunging at him with the knife, wounded leg dragging limply behind him. There was blood everywhere. Meer's eyes had trouble following the fight. The brief moment of relief had lulled her senses. Her awareness seemed dull compared to its previous state, when adrenaline had surged through her veins. For a heart-stopping moment, the two soldiers were locked in a hostile grip with one another. Quick as lightning, Athrun's elbow jabbed at the injured enemy's throat. The deadlock was broken. A swift kick sent Rey skidding across the wet pavement, apparently unconscious. Meer tried not to look at the dark red liquid oozing from the fallen man's leg. Instead, she focused on Athrun.

He amazed her. Even while fighting desperately, he moved with the supple grace of a panther, one movement flowing elegantly into the next. There was no time for her to stare in awe, though, for he grabbed her wrist and pulled her along at a dead run. With her free hand, she hiked up her skirt to her knees and then concentrated on keeping her gaze straight ahead of her. It was all she could do to keep up with him.

They stopped at a filthy old building – Meer guessed that it was probably a disused warehouse – and she followed Athrun as he crept around the back. She was grateful for the chance to catch her breath, but at the same time she was a bit worried about how safe it was to stop now. The best thing would be to get out of the base completely.

If they were caught...

After what she had done...

She clenched her hands into fists to keep them from shaking. That was when she noticed, to her horror, that her snowy gloves were stained with blood smears. Staring at the red blotches, she felt herself break into a cold sweat. She would surely be locked up for the rest of her life— no, she would be executed, for shooting a person!

_I shot someone! I shot someone!_ She shook her head vehemently to keep the thought from replaying itself again and again. _You saved my life..._ Athrun's kind words echoed from her memory. She took a breath and calmed herself. She had done it to save Athrun. Everything would be all right. She thought of the reassuring look he had given her while pretending to use her as a hostage. Athrun would protect her. He would protect her and they would escape from this nightmare together.

"Hey, Athrun, why are we—"

But the rest of her sentence never came out. Upon raising her head, she saw that Athrun was leaning heavily against the wall of the warehouse, his head hanging. A steady trickle of blood crawled over his hand where he was pressing it against his side. He was hurt!

The blood on her hands – it was Athrun's!

"Athrun, youre bleeding!" she cried.

"Never mind that," he hissed sharply. He motioned towards a little window above his head. "Climb up. Well hide in here."

Understanding dawned on her. She was astounded that he had been able to run like that, wounded as he was. That they had made it this far was a miracle. There was no way he would be able to pull himself up onto the window sill in his injured state. He had already pushed his body past its limits. His meadow green eyes seemed brighter than usual, and there was an emptiness inside them that she could only interpret as grim determination. Something about that look in his eyes told her that she did not dare let him out of her sight for a moment. She grabbed hold of a crate and dragged it over to the little window.

"Meer, what are you doing!?" he grated impatiently. "You need to hide...!"

"I will," she replied. She was surprised at how steady her voice was. "After you."

--

Athrun stared. Had she seen right through his plan? All he needed to do to right his wrongs here tonight was to put her somewhere safe, where she could hide until this was all over. Hopefully, after capturing him, they would not bother searching for her. When things quieted down, she could make her escape and find a place where she could live out her life in peace.

He would be a long way from dying without regrets – he was sure Dullindal would have him put to death smoothly and quietly once he was arrested – but at least that would reduce the list by one.

"Have you given up, then?" Lacus's voice reprimanded him.

He looked up, startled. It took him a few stunned moments to realize that it had been Meer who had spoken, not Lacus. Their voices were remarkably alike. His mind was flooded with memories, flashes of random bits and pieces all jumbled together. Lacus floating towards him in the depths of space. Lacus singing to the roses in her garden. Lacus facing him defiantly over the barrel of a gun. A distraught Lacus, crying in Kira's arms. Cagalli, sobbing into his own chest. Cagalli doing everything in her power to protect her loved ones.

A flash of amber eyes crying as her tears floated upwards.

_Stop running away! The hardest battle is to keep on living!_

And he felt like a coward. He could not just give up. He had to get back to them. He had to find his friends.

"No..." he replied quietly, strengthening his resolve to make it out of this death trap alive. "I havent..."

_I cant die yet. Not yet..._

--

It proved to be a difficult task to get Athrun through the window without agitating his injuries further. He did not complain, but Meer thought she saw him wince in pain a few times. Even so, she was infinitely relieved – that ominous feeling about him was gone. For a moment, she had been sure he was about to let himself die, though she was still not sure how she knew. She would have done anything – even picked him up and carried him if she had to! – as long as that rekindled sparkle remained in his eyes. She was not sure what had brought on Athrun's sudden turnaround, but she had a feeling it was not through anything that _she_ had done. Whatever had caused it, she was eternally grateful. She did not think she could bear the thought of being left alone in this mess.

Only after Athrun was safely on the other side did she clamber up and drop herself down into the warehouse. It was predictably dark and musty inside. Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around herself and shuddered. She usually loved the sound of the rain, but tonight the constant pattering sounded too much like running footsteps come to arrest her.

"So, what do we do now?" He did not reply. "Athrun...?"

With a gasp, she saw that he was lying curled up on the floor, his body hunched in on the wound. She rushed to his side and shook him gently. He groaned and rolled onto his back to regard her through eyes narrowed into slits from the pain.

"Athrun!" she called softly, doing her best to keep the panic rising in her throat from creeping into her voice. "Athrun, hold on, I'll... do something...!"

In truth, she had no idea what she could do. But he closed his eyes trustingly, his lips quirking into an incoherent smile. At that moment, she knew that she would do anything for him. Anything at all.

"You look just like her..." he murmured weakly. He stared at her for a moment, puzzled. Before his eyelids fluttered closed again, she could see that his usually vivid eyes were deep, green pools of echoing sadness, shrouded in a fog of disorientation. "Will you visit mother's grave for me while I'm on duty...?"

This was bad. Whether it was from exhaustion or blood loss, he was not making sense. The obvious thing to do was to try and stop the bleeding. _Bandages... Where would I find bandages?_ Casting her eyes about the dismal scenery, she concluded that she would find nothing clean enough in this run down warehouse that could pass for a makeshift bandage. So it was with a sense of purpose that she methodically began shredding the fabric of her elaborate skirt. By the time she removed his jacket and shirt to tend his injuries, he was slipping in and out of consciousness, his features scrunched up in pain and anxiety, like he was having a nightmare...

--

Someone was calling him.

Athrun took off his disguise. The dark glasses had never really suited him. Upon removing them, he placed them carefully on the bedside table. With an heavy heart, he studied Cagalli's prone form on the bed where she had just finished crying herself to sleep. Through the window, he could see the foreboding shape of the descending Junius 7 as it loomed over the earth like a giant claw ready to clasp it tightly and crush it. It was the last remnant of his father's wrath.

Seeing the great wreck so clearly, he suddenly knew who it was. He knew who was calling his name. He alone carried his father's sins.

_I'm his son..._ he apologized silently to the sleeping princess. _As his son, its my duty... I have to go..._

Down the hallway of the Minerva, he met Dullindal, the man who knew all his secrets. The disguise had not worked on him. He gave Athrun one of his trademark smiles and extended a FAITH badge to him.

_"Your father wasn't always like that, right?_

_You are you_

_Fight alongside me. What do you say?"_

Even if some things about him seemed too good to be true, a part of Athrun wanted to trust this man with his flawless expressions, this man with his righteous words and earnest sentiments. As he took the small white badge into his hand, he was suddenly wearing a royal purple ZAFT flight suit. The chains around his ankles came off. He had not even noticed they were there until they fell to the floor in a clatter. Now he could fight.

_"I said they were murdered..."_

_"...make up your mind, or you'll get yourself killed."_

_"I just thought I'd do what I can, even if it's just for now!"_

"Athrun..." The familiar voice of his childhood friend jerked his attention away from the voices. When he turned, he saw that Kira was standing on the other side of a great precipice, his eyes twinkling with open sadness. "What are you doing over there?"

"Wha—?" How could Kira ask him that? Even if they took different roads, their goals had always been the same! They were both trying to protect what was important to them. He was trying to protect everyone! But Kira was the one making things difficult here. And why did Kira have to look so sad? "What about you? What are you doing, Kira?"

"You should have stayed out of this!" Shinn's voice growled from out of nowhere. Before Athrun had a chance to even look at the raven-haired youth standing next to him, a gunshot sounded. Athrun let out a wordless cry as Kira fell. The pistol in Shinn's hand was still smoking as he turned to face Athrun. "What? He was our enemy, right?"

"No! Youve got it all wrong! Shinn, listen to me—"

Rey and the chairman appeared on either side of Shinn. The chairman's features were shadowed, his expression unreadable, while Rey wore an open smile that was much too broad for his smooth face.

"Don't you wanna stop the war?" Shinn taunted. His crimson irises were large and fierce and not at all playful. "Or..."

From behind the chairman, another familiar figure emerged from the smoke. A stern man with a strong build and a hard face. His mouth was set in an unbending line and his eyes were colder than a snowstorm. Something glinted against his purple uniform as he towered over Athrun.

"Or are you trying to get in my way again?" Patrick Zala thundered as he pulled the gun from his coat pocket.

_No! This isnt what I wanted...! I never meant—_ He tried to take a step back. To his horror, he could not move, for he discovered too late that a new set of chains now bound him. A scream welled up in his throat, but it came out as nothing more than a strangled whimper.

"Athrun...! Athrun!" an insistent whisper intruded on his awareness, urgent and desperate. "Athrun!"

He pried his eyes open with an effort. He could make out a blurry image of a girl with candy pink hair and light blue eyes that were pinched with worry.

--

"...no! I never meant—...!"

She could not take it any more.

Athrun's half-conscious pleas were breaking her heart, shattering it into pieces. She could not stand to see him like this, so weak and vulnerable... She put her hand against his blazing skin – she could feel him burning up through the thin material of her gloves – and began shaking him as gently as she could. She had sponged him off with cold rainwater she had collected through a crack in the ceiling, using a left over scrap of material from her once glamorous dress. She had done what she could with the bandages, though she hoped they were not too tight – she did not know much about first aid. At least the bleeding seemed to be under control.

"Athrun...! Athrun!" she whispered. He grimaced, but she doggedly kept on calling his name until he finally managed to open his eyes. "Athrun!"

For a while, he just seemed to study her. His eyes had a distant look to them. She hoped that he really saw her and was not still hallucinating. Then his eyes flared with recognition. They lit up with a kind of love and admiration Meer had never seen in his eyes before. His lips curved into a heartfelt smile. Meer's heart did somersaults as Athrun raised his hand to lightly brush his fingertips against her cheek.

"Lacus," he murmured in wonderment, "you're alive...!"

Meer reared back as if struck. _He thinks I'm Lady Lacus..._ She had never thought that it would hurt so much to be mistaken for her most favourite person in the whole world. Well, maybe her second favourite person, she amended silently as she ran her eyes over Athrun's handsome features. There was no sense in breaking the harsh reality to him just yet... Right...?

"Rest now..." she said serenely, the way Lady Lacus would have done.

With a sense of awe, she leaned over and kissed his forehead. He stared at her in shock, suddenly confused. But he seemed to relax all the same. He closed his eyes again and drifted off to a more peaceful slumber.

Maybe the real Lacus would not have been so quick to kiss Athrun. Maybe the real Athrun did not want Lacus to kiss him... Where had that thought come from? She shook her head at the silliness of it. _Of course he'd want his fiance to kiss him!_ But there was still so much she did not understand. So much she did not know. As much as she adored him, she knew nothing about him, and he nothing about her. They were complete strangers...

She found herself experiencing an unquenchable desire to know everything there was to know about Athrun Zala. If only they could get out of this alive...

**To be continued...**


End file.
